Avenger Dossier: Scarlet Witch
by Batmanismyhusband
Summary: Wanda's emotional journey from revenge seeking antagonist and grieving sister to a heroic Avenger while she explores her growing feelings for her android teammate.
1. Chapter 1

Day One

"Home sweet home," Natasha said cheerfully placing a sagging cardboard file box on the bed. Wanda followed the older woman into the room cautiously looking for unforeseen dangers lurking in corners. The room was spacious, well lit, there was a desk, book shelf, large unmade bed, and equally enormous television in the corner. Wanda dropped her red duffle bag at the foot of the bed. This and the two cardboard boxes Natasha carried in were the entirety of Wanda's worldly possessions.

Pietro, would have loved this, Wanda thought. The enormous Avenger's compound's slickly polished floors, floor to ceiling windows, and the high tech gadgets around every corner. She could almost imagine him strutting around pretending to be a rich playboy like Stark, kicking his feet up on a couch and trying to bring buxom women home. The thought made her snicker a briefly then she remembered he'd never have the chance to do any of those things. Pietro was dead.

For not the first time, more than even the fourth, Wanda felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs since she had left Sokovia. She felt Natasha's eyes on her and growing concern in her mind.

"Hey, why don't you unpack?" Natasha said, "Then we'll get lunch and go shopping."

Wanda felt immense gratitude that Natasha seemed to know when not to pry, but she was confused by her other suggestions. "Shopping?"

Natasha gestured to the room around them, "Place is a little bland don't you think? I'd want it to be a little homier."

Wanda had to agree the room was disconcertingly sterile.

"And if all your clothes are in that duffle bag you're going to be doing laundry every three days," Natasha said knowingly.

"Shopping… would not be bad," Wanda said attempting to not sound as uncomfortable as she felt. She truly wanted time to sort through her feelings and simply mourn, but the prospect new clothes had an undeniable appeal.

"Great," Natasha said, her voice was brimming with cheer and enthusiasm. Telepathically Wanda could tell most of Natasha's bubbly persona was a facade, but one that Natasha so desperately wanted to be real it might as well have been. Wanda knew better, she had used her powers to see into the dark corners of Natasha's mind. She knew the pain, the horrors, and the ruthlessness that lurked there; Wanda had even used it against Natasha. Now she wanted to go shopping together.

"Sorry," Wanda blurted out.

"What for?" Natasha asked titling her head with curiosity.

"For Johannesburg," Wanda explained.

"Oh well… I get where you were coming from," Natasha said, "We've all wanted revenge at some point. You can consider things between us even."

Wanda nodded. Natasha said they were even, not that she had forgiven Wanda. Wanda still detected some hurt and resentment from Natasha. Not for herself, but someone else. Dr. Banner and the monster Wanda had let loose on the city out of spite. Maybe Wanda was as much to blame for what happen to the city as the Hulk.

"Hey, unpack, then lunch. See you down stairs in an hour," Natasha said and then she called from the doorway, "Welcome to the team. You're an Avenger now."

It hadn't taken Wanda long to unpack, in fact it had taken her approximately ten minutes to put her clothes on the hangers in the closet. She spent the rest of the time lying on the bed resting and thinking. Natasha had given her a quick tour of the compound. There were several hangers, miles of trails and obstacle courses through the woods, and a restful garden with an artificial waterfall Wanda wanted to visit later. The 'mansion', as Natasha had called it, was where Wanda would be living now. There were atriums and conference rooms on the first floor as well as some workspaces. There was a smaller gym in the basement, a basketball court, and an indoor track, Wanda didn't imagine she'd be spending much time in the basement. The second and third floors were residential spaces, a state of the art kitchen, dining room, two living rooms, and a small private theater Natasha had promised to show Wanda how to operate later. Then there were of course several bedrooms, more than there were people living in the mansion, for guests. Wanda mercifully had been given one with a private bathroom attached.

Natasha said she lived on the compound full time, as did Steve, Vision, and Sam, who Wanda had only met briefly. Stark would descend from time to time in black helicopter and grace them with his presence sometimes bringing with him a Colonel Rhodes, who Wanda had found to be polite and funny when she met him. Wanda was curious when she'd get to see the android Vision again. She had a complicated affinity for him and remember the sensation she had felt when he had carried her away in his arms as Sokovia had plummeted towards the earth. She had felt safe.

"Wanda, you'll die," the memory Ultron's voice echoed in her head and Wanda shuddered. She felt rage, helplessness, and sorrow rising up in her threatening to consume her body and soul. Wanda gasped and fought it back down. The wispy red glow of her powers flickering around her body faded away. Someday, I might not be able to control it, she thought fearfully.

Forty minutes later Natasha dressed in unassuming street clothes ushered Wanda into a station wagon. Wanda looked wistfully at the exotic sports cars, convertibles, and even bulky SUVs in the garage and sensing her disappointment Natasha spoke, "I know, but we have a lot of stuff to buy and we're just going to the shopping center. Low profile required."

Wanda begrudgingly settled into the front passenger seat and Natasha pulled the station wagon out of the garage. The way Natasha drove the dowdy vehicle Wanda might have thought they were being pursued. The vehicle protested Natasha's aggressive handling and made a pathetic groan as it screeched to a halt in a parking space. Wanda felt she might have lost a year of her life. As she shakily climbed out of the station wagon she realized they were in a parking lot speckled with cars that might have been as large as the Sokovia airport. A big, greedy American shopping full of their gas guzzling cars. The hot summer air carried the scent of greasy food, car exhaust, and benign consumption. The pavement wasn't cracked from bomb shells or tanks driving over it. The buildings weren't pocked with bullet holes. Wanda felt a tangled mess of resentment and relief as she followed Natasha into the building where they were greeted by a blast of cold air. Inside everything was bright, new, and enticing. Displays taller than she was promised contentment and happiness wrapped in side colorful paper packages and Wanda could have it all for a carefully considered and standardized price.

"How will I pay for this?" Wanda asked dizzily.

"You won't, Stark will," Natasha said with a wink.

"Then I want to buy everything," Wanda said eagerly looking around.

Natasha pushed a cart following Wanda through the store. Natasha insisted first they find bedding and things for Wanda's bathroom. Natasha explained the mansion had sheets, but they "kind of sucked" and suggested Wanda would be better off with something she picked on her own. Wanda picked out sheets with a large painted flower pattern, the fluffiest red bath towels she had ever encountered, and Natasha tossed in various odds and ends, like a toothbrush holder and soap dispenser. Then Natasha brought Wanda to an aisle of soaps and lotions. Wanda picked out soap and lotions that smelled like roses. Natasha suggested moisturizers, Wanda would be grateful later, and then steered Wanda into the cosmetics. Wanda bought new nail polish in three shades, lipstick, mascara, and eyeliner, the most expensive brands in the store she had never even heard of in Sokovia. Natasha suggested some fragrances which Wanda gleefully added two different kinds thinking about how much these would have cost in Sokovia. At least two weeks of living expenses for her and Pietro.

Then they went to get clothes. Wanda carefully picked out several sweaters, a new leather jacket, skirts, and jeans. Natasha threw in a few tank tops because she said summer in New York was going to more hot and humid than Wanda was used to. Wanda liked the clothes Natasha suggested, but refused when she tried proffering a ruffly blue sundress with little pink flowers in the pattern.

"That dress is too happy," Wanda said stiffly, but she did think it was pretty.

"What's wrong with being too happy?" Natasha asked eyeing the contents of the cart. Everything Wanda picked out was dark and somber. A few dark maroons and purples broke up the black and grey. All the shoes Wanda had wanted were dark, heavy, with thick soles or a chunky heel. Wanda thought it would make her look tough. She wanted to look tough.

"Okay, I see the dress is a no go, but what about this hat?" Natasha asked holding up a large broad brimmed, dark felt hat. Wanda thought she had seen some fashion photos of women wearing something similar.

"I like the hat," she agreed.

Natasha also tossed in a frightening amount of sports bras and athletic clothes. She made Wanda try on cross trainer athletic shoes and warned her that Steve was going to make her build up her stamina.

As they passed the electronics section Natasha reminded Wanda she could get whatever she wanted and nudged her inside. Wanda picked out some very expensive headphones and thought of Stark maliciously as she placed a mini tablet in the cart. She found a red case for the phone the Avenger's had given her and she placed it in the cart on a whim. Wanda saw an instamatic camera and remembered her family photos in the cardboard box she had moved to the desk in her room. She asked Natasha and she steered them towards the stationary and office supplies. Wanda picked out a cute display that would allow her to hang the pictures from a wire hanger. Wanda saw a pretty journal and her hand hovered over it when Natasha cleared her throat.

"What's wrong?" Wanda asked picking up the journal.

"Were you thinking of keeping a journal?" Natasha asked. Wanda sensed anxiety ebbing out of the woman, which Wanda thought was very strange.

"I thought it might be fun. That's what normal girls do don't they?"

Natasha frowned at the journal, then shook her head. "Old habit, I just don't think it's a good idea to leave a paper trail. Anything you write down… Someone will read it. Someday, and they might not wish you well."

So this was Natasha the spy talking. Wanda could tell Natasha was faltering between wanting Wanda to have something as simple as a journal and a lifetime of experience cautioning her against it.

"I suppose I won't really have time to write," Wanda decided putting the journal back in the rack with some disappointment.

As a clerk rang up their purchases Wanda felt her eyes widening as the total went higher and higher. Wanda really wondered if she needed all these things. Like a toothbrush holder, that was pretty indulgent, right? However, when Natasha pulled out the little plastic card emblazoned with the same Stark Industries logo they plastered on that mortar shell Wanda felt no remorse. You owe me little man, Wanda thought, all this and more.

After tucking all of Wanda's purchases safely into the car Natasha drove them out of the shopping center and after fifteen minutes brought Wanda to a picturesque main street in a little village, at least what Americans would call a 'village'. The street was lined with trees and the buildings looked artificially nostalgic, like something Wanda had seen from American TV shows. Natasha led her to a little bistro with seating in the back that overlooked a river dam spilling water over the edge. Genuinely old brick buildings lined the river. The bistro looked like it might have been a warehouse converted into a restaurant. The patio was shaded; a cool breeze blew in off the river. Wanda felt unexpectedly content and at peace.

"This is very beautiful," Wanda said.

"Isn't it?" Natasha said, "New England is pretty nice. Even in the winter."

"Will it snow?" Wanda asked curiously.

"Oh yes, but not like home," Natasha said, "I want wine, do you want wine?"

Wanda agreed and Natasha ordered them wine and a plate of snacks. Natasha started chatting idly asking Wanda non-invasive questions. Wanda ate a piece of cheese.

Half way through her glass of glass of wine Wanda caught Natasha smirking at something over Wanda's shoulder.

"What?" Wanda asked.

"There a bunch of boys checking you out over there, no don't look," Natasha said.

Wanda felt herself uncomfortably stiffen up. "What should I do?"

Natasha laughed, "Nothing," then she became serious, "Unless they start cat calling or being rude. That's unacceptable. But I think they're just admiring the view. I'm surprised you look so startled, you must have had dozens of boys asking you out back in Sokovia."

Wanda shook her head, "No, most were too afraid of me. Or Pietro scared them off if he thought they were… not nice. Not that I needed his help."

"Did that bother you? Boys being afraid of you?" Natasha asked.

Wanda shook her head, "I had more important things on my mind."

"What about now?" Natasha asked playfully.

Wanda took a sip of her wine seriously considering Natasha's question. "No, I think I still have more important things worry about."

"You're probably right, " Natasha said, "But don't be afraid to do let yourself blow off a little steam from time to time.

Wanda nodded then as an afterthought, "But are they cute?"

Natasha grinned and held her hand out, palm down, and tilted it back and forth. Wanda recognized it as a gesture many American's used to indicate a non-committal maybe. Wanda wondered how long Natasha had been in the United States to pick up that kind of body language.

"Can I look?" Wanda asked.

"They might come over," Natasha said.

"Then no," Wanda decided.

"Fair enough," Natasha said. She appeared to catch the eye of the unseen to Wanda boys and shook her head. She must be telling them not come over. Then Wanda had a thought.

"I can tell there are people behind me, but you could be making all this up and there are just normal people eating their lunch behind me," Wanda pointed out.

"You're a telepath, you could check," Natasha pointed out.

Wanda felt her cheeks turn red at the idea of reading the minds of boys who were looking at her.

"No, it's okay, I trust you," Wanda said staring into her wine glass. Natasha thought this was hilarious.

Later that night Wanda was in her room trying on her new clothes. Shopping and lunch with Natasha had turned out to be a lot of fun and Wanda was feeling much more cheerful than she had in several weeks. At the bottom of one of the bags Wanda found the blue dress she had told Natasha she didn't want. Natasha must have snuck it in. Natasha seemed to enjoy her games.

Wanda held it up to herself in front of the mirror. She frowned. Definitely too happy. But it might be too much trouble to return to the store. She could at least try it on. Wanda wriggled out of her clothes and into the dress. She stood in front of the mirror and looked at the light blue fabric fluttering around her. She fluffed her hair, maybe she could put on some lipstick? She found the lipstick she had bought. The light pink shade? She carefully applied it and took a step back and admired herself in the mirror. She tested a smile on herself. She thought she looked pretty good.

She heard a chime from her phone on the desk. She wandered over and saw she had an email. From Tony Stark. Ew.

Wanda,

Did you get everything you needed? I gave Natasha the company card.

-Tony

Wanda thought that was an odd email. Why would he think she didn't have everything she needed? Unless he was being rude and his message was actually sarcastic. Sarcastic did seem more personality appropriate too Stark and she had tried to spend as much as possible. She tapped out a reply and sent it.

Mr. Stark,

Yes. I hope I haven't set you back at all. Had fun.

-Wanda

She went back to trying on her clothes and putting them away humming to herself. Her phone chimed again half an hour later. Stark again.

Wanda,

No worries. I actually expected you to spend more. Setting you up with small stipend.

-T

"Stupid rich bastard," Wanda said bitterly when she saw the amount of the "small" stipend was. She sat on her bed disappointed. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised one small shopping trip would set back one of the richest men in the world. She'd have to buy a small country for him to notice.

Wanda realized she was being very petty and sighed heavily. Stark wasn't her enemy anymore, in fact he had just bought her a bunch of clothes, but that didn't mean she had to like him personally. Maybe there were better ways to be obnoxious. She'd observe Steve Rogers he seemed to be able to irritate Stark without even trying. Natasha had said Steve had wanted to see her first thing in the morning so that would be the perfect opportunity to observe and learn.


	2. Chapter 2

Day Two

Wanda woke up feeling dreadful. She had nightmares about Pietro dying again, which maybe she should have been expected. Based on the light it must still be very early morning, just after sunrise. She stared up and ceiling dazed it had only been a little more than a week since the events in Novi Grad. She felt raw and unwilling to get out of bed. How did she grieve for her parents as a child? That hadn't been so hard, she had Pietro and she had the distraction of trying to survive. Now she had everything she could possibly want and more. What was she supposed to do? She began to sob into her pillow until she must have fallen back asleep.

She woke up to someone calling her name with concern. Wanda rolled over and looked up bleary eyed at a dark red face hovering over her. Wanda shrieked and wrung her fingers hex the stranger hovering over her bed. Just time to realize it was Vision. Thankfully the hex passed through him ineffectively and fizzed out. Wanda wasn't sure if the hex hadn't work because she hadn't wanted to or Vision was just immune to her hexes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," Vision said lightly touching down on the floor beside her bed.

Wanda sat up covering herself with blanket. She was wearing a t-shirt, but she still felt exposed under Vision's innocent scrutiny. He doesn't mean anything by it, she told herself, he's just a barely two-week old robot, but she still wasn't able to keep the irritation out of her voice. "Vision, what are you doing in my room?"

"It's mid-morning and Captain Rogers was looking for you," Vision explained as if this was a reasonable enough reason to enter her room uninvited. Wanda noticed the door to her room was still shut.

"Why did you shut the door after yourself?"

"I didn't use the door," Vision explained.

"You just floated into my room? Through a wall?" Wanda said her accent became thicker when she was tired, she wasn't even sure if she what she was saying sounded like English anymore.

Vision could apparently understand still regardless. "The ceiling."

Wanda groaned. "Just go, tell Captain Rogers I will be there in twenty minutes."

"Certainly," Vision said then dissolved through the floor.

Wanda groaned again.

Before heading downstairs Wanda saw she had a text message from Clint Barton asking if she could call or do a video chat this evening. He said he had found a solution. Wanda felt more anxious than she already did, somehow, but she responded to Barton's message with an affirmative. Then she went downstairs. Captain Rogers was waiting for her outside looking alert and well into his day. Vision had apparently floated off elsewhere.

"Feeling all right Maximoff?" he asked her.

Wanda wanted to give him an angry response, but she didn't think he had really done anything to deserve that. She used her telepathy to see if he was looking for a lie or an honest answer.

"No, I'm not, Captain Rogers," Wanda admitted.

"Anything I can do?" he asked with concern.

"Thank you, but there's not anything any of us can do," Wanda said bluntly.

Captain Rogers looked thoughtful for a moment, but simply said, "Wanda, I don't know exactly what you're going through right now, but I've… I've lost family so don't feel like you have to mourn alone. If you need some time… I wasn't going to suggest you take the test until the end of the week, but Natasha and Vision said you wanted to take it today."

"No, I'm awake, I don't want to go back to my room to pout. Let's do this test," Wanda said flippantly. She didn't remember telling Natasha and Vision she wanted to take any tests today, but she was too determined to be stopped now.

Captain Rogers nodded taking in what she was wearing. "All right. For starters… you're not going to want to do this obstacle course in a mini skirt and boots."

And so Wanda trudged back to her room and changed into the shoes and athletic clothes Natasha and forced on her yesterday. Natasha had mercifully picked out clothing with dark colors so Wanda didn't feel like a self-conscious neon lollipop when she emerged. Captain Rogers met her at the entrance and walked her over a trail that led to the edge of the woods. As they walked over he asked what sort of training had she received with Strucker and Hydra. She hadn't received any training. She had been subjected to endless tests, locked in a cell for extended periods of time. She shuddered remembering the cell. The open glass panes for anyone to look in at her at all times. The cold. The discomfort. Captain Rogers must have realized her discomfort and shifted the conversation away asking if she had played any sports as a child. Wanda laughed.

"My brother was the athletic one. I'm the weird one, remember," Wanda said. She knew what people said about her.

"Right, not as weird as you might think," he told her. "This is just to see what condition you're in physically, no powers." Captain Rogers indicated a trail that winded through the woods. In the distance Wanda could see rows of tires, a rope net, and what looked like monkey bars, it appeared to keep going stretching off into the woods. Wanda regretted getting out of bed.

"Just go as fast as you can without hurting yourself," he told her. Wanda gave him the most morose look she was capable of and took off in a trot. She glanced back at him after a few feet.

"Maybe a little faster that," Rogers shouted as kindly as he could. Wanda fretfully faced forward again and continued jogging forward. Oh Pietro, if only you were here to help, Wanda thought, if you weren't busy busting your sides laughing at me. The thought of Pietro made Wanda's eyes start to tear up, but the thought of doing something that would have made him laugh brightened her mood more than she thought it would have.

Wanda plodded on, but I didn't take long for her sides to start aching. She started to feel dizzy at about the top of the rope net. There was a tower at the top and a metal cable strung between the tower and the ground. A zip line. Wanda peered over the edge and gave a nervous laugh. The ground was very far below her. She looked at the zip line that was not happening in a million years. Her chest pounding, she found a ladder down off the tower and began to slowly climb down. She felt terrible. If she ate breakfast she might have thrown it up. But she also felt so dizzy. She slipped on the last few rungs of the ladder and fell to the ground. She just lay there in the leaves and the dirt and didn't bother to get up. A few moments later Captain Rogers was kneeling beside her.

"Did you break anything," he asked in a panic.

"My dignity," Wanda said lifting herself up. Rogers chuckled helping her into a sitting position.

"You know you can do this tomorrow," he told her.

Wanda shook her head. "No, I started this, I'm going to finish this," she said resolutely, "But do you having anything to eat?"

Rogers as if by magic produced some kind of energy granola bar. Wanda nibbled at it until she felt better. She wrapped up the remaining half and tucked it into her clothing.

"Okay, I'll finish this," Wanda said and continued on. She trotted on knowing Rogers wasn't far behind her. She was embarrassed, but on the other hand she told herself, if she was ever confronted with any such real problem she could simply blast it out existence with her hexes rather than try to run through it. After what seemed like an eternity Wanda had managed to loop back to the mouth of the trail where they had started. Steve joined her within moments.

"Well, you finished," he said with a big grin.

"How long did it take?"

"Let's not worry about that," he said reassuringly.

"That well?"

"Well, you complained less than, Sam. That's something."

"Pietro, would have thought this was hilarious," Wanda said gesturing the course and then to herself. "He always said if we got attacked by a bear in the woods he'd have to carry me and he was right."

"You know I would have given Pietro a different course. Probably a mental obstacle course," Rogers said. He gestured for her to follow him back towards the mansion.

"Oh, he would have hated that," Wanda said, "He always wanted to rush through everything without thinking it over."

"Exactly, we've all got thing we could do better," Roger said. "I'm not expecting you to be able to run through this as fast as me or even Natasha, but I am thinking some running or swimming to build up your endurance, some calisthenics to loosen you up, a little bit of strength training. I think you'll feel a lot better and it will give you a goal to work towards."

Wanda liked the sound of a goal, even if it wasn't one she was enthusiastic about. She had always worked towards goals, even if they had been as abstract as revenge.

"Does Vision have to run the obstacle course?"

"I tried, he didn't really get it," Rogers explained, "He just flew and phased through everything. I just decided not to bother about it."

Wanda laughed. Vision didn't seem to get a lot of things about humans. They were almost back at the mansion so Wanda decided to ask what was on her mind while she could.

"Does it bother you he's a copy of Ultron's mind?"

Rogers looks strangely unperturbed by her question. He must have thought about it a lot. "I don't understand all the science behind it, but he's more than a copy, there's more to him than that. There's Stark's AI, that magic stone, and he's a copy of Ultron, not Ultron himself. Remember Vision helped us stop Ultron and he saved your life."

"Maybe it was just convenient for the moment to do those things?" Wanda suggested.

Rogers stood with hands on his hips and smiled at her, "Maybe it was. We all have the capacity to do evil deeds, Wanda. All of us. But that's a choice. I think Vision has made his choice just like you've made yours."

She had made a choice, hadn't she? She was going to be an Avenger. But there was still more to it. Wanda wanted to ask Captain Rogers about evil deeds done with good intentions, but he had already entered the mansion and the moment passed.

Wanda showered, excited to use her new soaps, and changed back into her skirt and sweater content that she smelled significantly better. She wandered into the kitchen to find Sam Wilson making a row of sandwiches. He pointed down at and the concoctions, they looked really good. "You want in on this?" he asked.

Wanda nodded and Sam gave her instructions on what she needed to get out of the refrigerator. Sandwich making to Sam was apparently and art as he instructed her the appropriate way to layer ingredients and what needed to touch for "optimum flavor". Wanda had never realized making a sandwich was this complicated. Sam slid one of the sandwiches on a plate, cut it diagonally, and inserted a toothpick holding what he called a cherry pepper in the top of each wedge. He ostentatiously handed the plate and sandwich to her. He took the remaining three for himself.

"The Scarlet Sand _wich_ ," Sam said.

Wanda felt embarrassed for him as she sat at the counter.

"That was good," Sam insisted.

"The sandwich is much better, thank you," Wanda said blushing biting into her food.

Sam sighed and sat in the seat one over from her and started eating his sandwiches. He occasionally asked her questions about herself which made Wanda nervous, but she wasn't sure what she could do to make him change the subject to something besides herself.

"They said you can get inside people's minds," Sam finally said. Wanda felt a telepathic surge and realized he was scared of her, he wasn't sure if he could trust her. Wanda has been feeling pretty good about their exchange up to this point since he had given her food.

"I can," Wanda said simply.

"But you won't, right?" Sam asked.

Wanda looked at him coldly over her shoulder, "Not my allies, no."

Sam continued to watch her carefully, Wanda was a little hurt he felt he needed to ask that, but she wasn't sure he wasn't without fault for being cautious. Hadn't she just asked Captain Rogers the same question this afternoon about Vision?

"Thank you for the sandwich, Sam," Wanda spoke frostily as she placing her dish in the dishwasher. Then exiting the kitchen. She felt restless, but still a little exhausted after this morning. She couldn't call Clint until later tonight, she had an idea what he wanted to talk about and she was partially dreading it. She wasn't ready, but maybe it would give her some closure?

Still she felt like she should be doing something until that phone call. Maybe Natasha or Steve would give her something to do that didn't involve and obstacle course. Despite looking high and low around the mansion she couldn't find either. She thought about texting them, she looked at her phone to see if they had texted her, they hadn't. She didn't want to text them, that made her feel like the needy restless child that she was.

Wanda remembered the garden Natasha had pointed out yesterday. It was a beautiful day, not too hot, so why not now. Natasha set off in the direction she was pretty sure the garden had been. Parts of the garden seemed to be relatively new, the hedges were still very low and in places there were still signs of tractor tracks in the dirt. However other parts the trees and hedges seemed very old, like this had been someone else's garden before the Avengers had taken over the property. Still Wanda could tell it was going to be beautiful someday once everything grew in. There were several smaller paths that led off to private areas with benches or small fountains. There were enormous flower beds where some of the early spring flowers were coming into bloom.

Suddenly Wanda stopped in her tracks, a head she could see Vision hovering the air over a pool of water. She ducked behind a hedge and watched him curiously. He seemed to be intently looking at something in water. She wondered if she could try to read his mind again.

"Hello, Wanda," he called out to her.

Wanda knew it would be more embarrassing if she ran away so she climbed out from behind the hedge. "Hello," she said walking down the terraced brick steps to the pool he was hovering over. It was man made and lined with slate tiles. Enormous lily pads and the occasional pink lotus dotted the surface of the water. Beneath the surface she could see white, orange, and golden koi darting around the water. Vision's shadow must have been exciting them. All their tiny little animal brains could think about was being fed.

"You're teasing them," Wanda told him, "They think they're going to be fed."

"Oh, I didn't realize," Vision said. He descended to the stones lining the pond a few feet away from her. He looked down at her and she looked up shyly at him. It was challenging to keep a straight face when conversing with a red faced robot that looked like a man. Fortunately, it was one of her favorite shades of red.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

Wanda shrugged, "It's been a rough day. Especially after being so rudely awakened."

"Rudely… oh, I'm so sorry, it seemed very urgent that I wake you up at that moment. I wasn't sure the best way to go about it. I realize I must have done something wrong when you tried attacking me."

"I'm a little on edge when I get startled awake," Wanda said.

"Understandable, given your life thus far. Also primal instinct in primates to react to predators," Vision said looking thoughtful. It was as if Wanda could hear the little gears and servos grinding at work in there. But then Wanda remembered she had seen Vision as he was being built in that casket like cradle. There were no gears, no components like the inside of a computer. He was metal made flesh, she could even read his thoughts that's how close he was to human.

"Do you sleep?" Wanda asked abruptly.

"No, not that I've tried." Vision said considering the possibility.

Wanda shrugged, "I was just curious. What were you doing looking at the koi?"

Vision looked back at the fish darting through the water. "I was exploring the statistical possibilities of koi being born with certain markings based on how they breed. The nuances and variations in their appearance are amazing. Also they're very beautiful."

"I'm surprised to hear an android talking about beauty," Wanda said crossing her arms watching Vision curiously.

"It certainly is an elusive and poetic subject," Vision said, "I'm honestly not sure what androids are supposed to talk about, human media seems quite conflicted on that, not that I would trust it if it was unified, but I would like to think I have my own concept of beauty."

Wanda might have imagined it, but she felt his eyes linger on her for a moment longer than was necessary to say that before returning his gaze to the fish in the pond.

"Will you walk with me back up to the house?" Wanda asked.

"Of course, Wanda," Vision said turning and following her back up the steps towards the mansion. They walked together silently up the path until Vision interrupted the evening silence with a question.

"How would you like me to wake you up next time?"

Wanda was a little shocked and was concerned she was blushing, "How should you what?"

"How should I wake you? I've calculated the probability that I will have wake you again at some point the in duration of your life and it's almost impossible that I won't. What would be the most agreeable way for me to do so?"

He's just a two-week old robot, he doesn't realize what's he's saying, Wanda reminded herself. "Well, I can't guarantee you won't startle me regardless of what you do, but if I'm expecting from now on I might not be as afraid and after sleeping here a few nights I'll be a little calmer…" How had Pietro woken her up? He had shaken her shoulder and on a few occasions he had tipped the mattress rolling her out of it. She didn't feel eager to suggest either of those options to Vision.

"If you opened the door and you weren't hovering, that would probably help a lot."

"True hearing a door open might set you more at ease," Vision reasoned. "I shall try it."

"Or better yet you could not wake me unless it was a life threatening emergency," Wanda suggested hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Wanda, but Captain Roger's desire to maintain a schedule, albeit a liberal one, supersedes your desire for sleep."

At least she had tried.

At eight o'clock Wanda turned on one of the house tablets and with Natasha's instructions set one of the projectors to display the video call to Clint Barton's farm. Wanda's hands trembled uncomfortably so Natasha patted her back and took the tablet from her. After a few moments ringing Clint's face, larger than life appeared on the living room wall, a small box on the corner showed Wanda and Natasha sitting on the couch together. Natasha waved at Clint.

"How's retired life treating you, Farmer Clint?" Natasha asked.

"It's amazing, it's been less than a week and no one has tried to kill me," Clint said. Wanda flinched given the reason for the call. Clint realized his mistake. So had someone off screen who smacked Clint's with a dish towel. Perhaps his wife?

"I'm sorry Wanda, we're just… I'm sorry," Clint bumbled the apology.

"Occupational hazard," Wanda said trying to laugh it off. Desensitized to death? Wanda fervently hoped that never happened to her.

"Hi, Wanda, I'm Laura," a woman, extraordinarily pregnant and with the dish towel in hand, forced her way into view of the screen. She smiled at them kindly.

"Hello," Wanda replied.

"So I picked up the ashes today," Clint explained. Wanda nodded tearfully. After Novi Grad Wanda had been nearly catatonic as an official with a clipboard had asked her what she wanted to do with her brother body. Clint has stepped in and told her he'd take care of her brother's body. The only thing he had asked her was if she was okay with cremation. Wanda had barely aware of what was going on said yes and she wanted Pietro near her. She couldn't leave him in Sokovia; the cemetery where their parents and grandparents were buried didn't exist any longer. Wanda hadn't been able to take care of herself last week let alone decide what to do with her brother's body.

Wanda realized Clint was still talking.

"And if it's alright with you Wanda, there is a hill that overlooks the farm, we'll build a little vault and we can keep the ashes there if you decide you want to move them later," Clint said.

"I can't keep him here with me?" Wanda asked. Clint, Laura, and Natasha all told her no. Natasha closed her hand around Wanda's.

"You can visit the farm as much as you want, but you can't keep your brother's ashes in your room, Wanda. If nothing else this location has a higher risk for being compromised or something so valuable being misplaced. That will probably never happen at the farm," Natasha told her.

"I can't even keep him in the garden?" Wanda asked.

"Wanda, just as an example," Clint said, "If Banner ever came back all it would take is one bad day for Hulk smash and the whole garden is a mulch pile."

"Thank you, Barton, for that," Natasha took a deep breath, "Frighteningly likely scenario."

"You are welcome, Natasha," Clint said. "So if you took the quinjet out Friday morning, we'll build the vault and have a small wake or not that's up to you. You can hang out over the weekend. It'll be fun. Not to say you have to have fun at the funeral part, but you should enjoy yourself the rest of the time."

"It is fun. The farm is fun," Natasha told Wanda, "And if you want to have a memorial for Pietro we'd all like to pay our respects to him if that's okay with you."

Wanda wondered what Pietro would have wanted. Her chest ached, Pietro had never considered dying, he'd had been too worried about what happened to her. Wanda nodded quickly before she started crying again. "Yes, let's do that."

Natasha nodded at Clint and Laura on the screen. Clint had one more thing to say, "Hey, I heard you ran Steve's death run today."

Wanda nodded.

"Not to brag, but I totally spilled my chunks on that thing," Clint told her.

"I'm not sure what that means," Wanda said. She wasn't sure what chunks meant in English in this context.

Natasha muttered, "He means he threw up."

"Oh," Wanda said. "Gross."

Clint tossed up his hands, "Just saying if you kept down breakfast you did better than me. Anything else ladies?"

"We're good, we'll see you Friday morning unless you have another other gross stories for us," Natasha said.

"Adios!" Clint said with a wave and ended the phone call.

Natasha cleared her throat, "I know you're feeling blue, but I think the farm will cheer you up."

At the reminder of Steve's obstacle course Wanda was reminded of something Steve said that morning.

"Captain Rogers said you and Vision told him I wanted to run the course today, but Rogers didn't want me to run it until later in the week," Wanda said. She waited to see what she picked up with the telepathy after she said that. Natasha's head turned into a muddle of concern, guilt, and past pain.

"That's weird, maybe Steve misunderstood," Natasha said tilting her head quizzically.

Wanda could tell Natasha was lying, but she didn't seem to be trying that hard to conceal it for someone who was such a practiced liar. It was almost like she wanted Wanda to know she was lying.

"Are you up for watching a movie? You can say no, you're probably exhausted," Natasha asked.

"No, I want to watch a movie," Wanda said.

"Okay, go make some popcorn and I'll find something," Natasha said. Wanda nodded weakly and gave Natasha a small smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Day Five

Wanda's hands curled around a stainless steel tumbler of tea that had long since gone cold and looked out the window. The landscape was impressive, but indistinguishable blue skies, curving horizons, and haphazard patchwork of green, brown, grey snaking that were occasionally redirected by navy colored bodies of water. From time to time the roadways would intersect or pass through towns, but from this high up cities and civilizations were as impersonal as marks on a map.

She felt sick, like time was running out, but she knew it had already run out more than a week ago. Part of her was missing and now she was a shade of the woman she used to be. Part of her had exited the world and now she had to seal it away. Despite having spent nearly every spare moment alone this week crying she still wanted to scream and cry. Instead she just shut her eyes tightly.

She didn't open them again until she felt the pressure changing in the cabin and the slight changes in the sounds the jet made. The green and brown became grass and trees, the grey roadways, and sunlight glittered on the surface of anybody of water they passed. With the most graceful of thuds the quinjet touched down in an empty field of tall grass surrounded by trees and lined by a dirt road and fence of wooden posts and thin wire. Wanda saw a battered old green pick-up truck parked on the road, Clint leaning against it.

"Here we are," Natasha chirped as she toggled various switches completing various post flight tasks Wanda was beyond comprehending at the moment. She absently took Vision's hand when he offered it to help her out of her seat.

"Miss Romanoff, I can put the quinjet in stealth mode if you wish to go ahead with Wanda to the farm," Vision said turning away from Wanda.

"You'll be able to make it up to the farm without getting lost?" Natasha teased.

"I think I am equal to the task," Vision replied.

"Alright, have fun," Natasha said heading to the back of the jet gesturing to Wanda to follow her. Wanda looked to Vision who gave her a brief nod and Wanda docilely followed Natasha out of the jet, stopping to pick up her red duffle bag. The tumbler of cold tea had disappeared from her hands; Vision had probably taken it from her while she was sitting dazed in her seat.

As they stepped off the ramp Wanda was barraged instantly with spring humidity and all the scents of a farm and the outdoors. The effect was more vitalizing than she could have imagined. When they were very young their grandparents had a farm in the countryside of Sokovia, she and Pietro had played outdoors in the fields and with the animals. Wanda had completely forgotten about it and the smells until now. There was the sweet earthy smell of the grass in the field, the poppies growing around the ditch of the road, and the permeating scent of unseen livestock. Clint met them in the field, he and Natasha exchange affectionate sarcastic banter with each other that Wanda ignored. She continued to passively look around until Clint addressed her.

"Ready to move some cinder blocks?" he asked her.

"Always," Wanda said with false indifference.

Clint nodded, "Well, let's get going, I put in a foundation a day ago, we can put down a few rows of blocks before it gets too hot."

Wanda and Natasha had dressed with the intention of doing construction work so neither objected when they climbed into truck, which had a single bench, Wanda in the middle, and drove off down the road. The truck rattled over every bump and Wanda felt her teeth uncomfortably banging against each other in her mouth.

"Won't Vision look for us at the farm house?" Wanda asked Natasha.

Natasha had fished a pair of sunglasses out of her bag and was slipping them over her face. She smiled, "Ah, he'll be fine, I think he comes with GPS."

Wanda thought that was an inconsiderate thing to say, but probably accurate.

After half a mile, or more, Wanda was a poor judge of these things, Clint turned the truck off the dirt road and onto a narrow trail. It was hardly more than a wide path through the woods where plants had given up trying to grow for the time being. The ride became even more bumpy as he steered the truck up uphill and branches scraped against the body of the truck as they pass by. Then they came out to the top of a hill where an old oak tree stood apart from the rest of the forest. The grass appeared trampled down in places, as if this was a site of activity for the children Wanda knew Clint had, and there appeared to be places where the truck had already flattened the grass that week. There was a swing hanging from the oak tree.

Clint reversed the truck, backed up to something, then mercifully parked the decrepit torture chamber on wheels. Wanda dropped out of the truck behind Natasha and circled around the to the back. Clint whipped a blue vinyl tarp off a lumpy pile that turned out to be a collection of cinder blocks, the most enormous bucket Wanda had ever seen, as well some tools, and several gallon container of what must have been water.

Clint guided her over to a spot close to the trees where a block of cement, no more than two feet by two feet had been laid out and cured. Clint explained his plan to build a little vault and a bring in a tombstone. Wanda looked at the spot unspeaking, then wandered the area a little bit, heading towards the swing. If she sat in the swing she could look out over the hill and into the little valley the farm was built on.

"The kids come up here a lot," Clint explained to her, "We have picnics sometimes. This is a special spot to my family."

Wanda looked at him, nodding in acknowledgement and on the verge of tears. "Thank you," she told him. "Thank you for including us in your family."

Clint looked a little tearful himself and gave her a tense smile. Wanda did her best to return the smile, but she was sure it looked more like a grimace.

"But seriously, that thing isn't going to build itself," Clint said.

Natasha had mixed up the mortar in a bucket while they had been talking, Wanda wondered where Natasha had picked up that skill. Natasha gave Wanda's arm a little squeeze and with Clint they set to work spreading the mortar and stacking the cinder blocks on top of it. Wanda lost herself in the task listening to Clint's instructions and layering the enormous bricks on top of each other until they reached approximately two feet in height. Wanda's was exhausted and she realized she had missed breakfast again. In her mind she heard Pietro chiding her for not taking better care of herself. She'd do better for Pietro's sake.

Clint started layer the smaller cinder blocks to form a small roof over the structure. Then he showed Wanda several granite sheets in the back of the truck they would use to panel over the cinder block walls and the roof.

"But after lunch. The cement needs to cure anyway," he told them. It was starting to get too hot and Wanda was feeling a little dizzy.

Natasha was looking at the packaging for the mortar cement. "This cures so quickly and is so easy to use," she said with amazement.

"Well if we can build a giant flying boat then hopefully we can make cement that cures in a few hours," Clint said.

"I know, this is just so useful," Natasha continued. Wanda wasn't sure she wanted to know why Natasha would be so fascinated by quick drying cement. Hopefully she just had a patio somewhere Wanda didn't know about.

Clint grabbed Wanda's bag out of the truck for her and with Natasha they all walked down the path through the trees to the road. Wanda was tired, but she had no problem not riding in the truck. After fifteen minutes of walking and idle chatter between Clint and Natasha they came to the farm house. They stomped up the steps and inside. Clint's wife, Laura, was sitting with her feet propped up, Clint walked over to her and kissed the top of her head. Laura waved to Wanda, she was very late in her pregnancy so Wanda didn't expect her to move for anything. Clint's son, Cooper, was reading on the couch next to his mother.

"Did Vision find the house?" Wanda asked.

Laura's eyes widened. "Yes. Yes, he did. He scared the living daylights out of me."

"Sorry…" Wanda apologized, "Is he still here?"

Laura pointed to an adjoining room which was set up as a child's playroom. Vision was seated on the floor, his knees up to his chest, next to Clint's daughter, Wanda remembered her name as Lila. Vision was intently watching Lila color at her child sized table the same way he had watched the koi fish in the pond. He looked strange and out of place, but perfectly content. He saw Wanda and smiled, "Oh good, you didn't get lost."

The little girl looked up at Wanda and asked, "Are you Wanda?"

Wanda nodded and Lila jumped up, trotted over and hugged Wanda around her legs. "Hi," was all she said then she resumed her coloring.

Wanda needed a few moments reprieve before she was ready to handle the appreciated, but exhausting sympathy and pity from Laura or any mature conversations that might be happening in the other room so she settled on the floor across from Vision at the child's table. She peered at the drawing the Lila was studiously working on. She was drawing Vision, which made Wanda chuckle.

"That's a very good likeness," Wanda said. The Lila mumbled thanks and found a green crayon.

"You should draw Wanda next," Vision told the little girl. Wanda arched an eyebrow at him. Wanda shuffled through the pages on the table and found drawing of other Avengers, very many of Clint and Natasha. Wanda pulled one out that surprised her. Lila gasped and took it from Wanda.

"That's a surprise," she said upset and took the drawing to the far side of the room and hid it in a box.

"That was Pietro and you?" Vision asked Wanda.

"Maybe," Wanda said. She wondered why Clint's daughter would draw Wanda and her twin if she had never met them. Wanda watched Lila moving things around on the other wise of the room.

"You skipped breakfast this morning didn't you?" Vision said studying her astutely.

Wanda balked, "How'd you know?"

"I can read your blood sugar," Vision said disapprovingly.

Wanda replied tartly, "Why didn't you say anything this morning then?"

"You didn't look as wan and sickly to raise my suspicion then," Vision explained.

Wanda flushed, she refused to believe she looked that awful. "I can take care of myself."

Vision frowned and asked with concern, "Can you, Wanda?"

His expression implied he had his doubts, Wanda felt her temper rise at the implication even though she had been thinking the same thing about herself less than an hour ago. She rose to her feet and left the playroom, returning the kitchen. Natasha was assembling a salad and there were various sandwich ingredients laying out.

"Can I help?" Wanda asked, more forcefully than she meant to. Natasha ignored her tone and said yes. Wanda started assembling sandwiches the way Sam had taught her earlier in the week. Somehow when she decided to join the Avengers she hadn't realized sandwich making would be something added to her repertoire. The adults and children sat down to eat, Vision disappeared, Clint's daughter said he was going to explore the farm.

After a few hours in doors resting Natasha, Clint, and Wanda walked back to the site on the hill. Vision hadn't been seen since before lunch. Wanda was admittedly too angered by what he had said to her to want to see him again yet. However, when they reached the top of the hill they realized the rest of the work on the vault at had been completed.

Clint was marveling at the work, he openly said the blocks had been too heavy to move on his own, he had planned on having Wanda move them with her powers, so to see all their work already done he was shocked.

"Maybe Vision did it?" Natasha suggested.

Wanda sighed. "Maybe."

"He was worried how hard you were taking losing Pietro," Natasha admitted. She cleared her throat, "He thought if you had a goal to focus on you'd have something else to concentrate on, so I suggested running Steve's murder miles course sooner."

Wanda turned away.

Clint interjected with indignation, "Was this a team decision?"

"No, but you're retired, remember?" Natasha said.

"Nat," Clint said in a low voice, "Don't push her."

Wanda found herself irritated, but touched, that this much consideration for her wellbeing had taken place behind her back. They seemed to genuinely care about her, but didn't think she could act without their help. She wasn't sure she could disagree with them. She turned back to Natasha and Clint, speaking before their disagreement could escalate. "Thank you, Natasha, for your concern."

Natasha raised her eyebrows quizzically waiting to see if Wanda had anything else to say, but after a moment, it became apparent there was nothing else Wanda wanted to say on that subject.

"Do you have any horses?" Wanda asked Clint.

"There is a donkey. We named it Tony," Clint said.

"That's a good name for an ass," Wanda said.

That afternoon Clint showed Wanda around the farm, bringing along Cooper and Lila. They met and fed Tony the Donkey. The kitchen garden, the chicken coops, and the composting piles. Clint showed off the solar panels that powered the farm, they all had S.H.I.E.L.D. stamped into their underside. The hilltop windmill they used to draw up the well water for the farm. The entire farm was off the grid and self-sufficient.

Wanda found herself taking notes, reminded specifically of the refugee shelters and camps she and Pietro had shuffled through for a few years and how useful all of this would have been. It would still be of use in Sokovia and elsewhere. Maybe someday she'd be able to use information elsewhere for some good.

Evening came and they returned to the house to eat dinner. When they were done Wanda quietly asked if she could see Pietro's ashes. Laura brought her upstairs to a room she told Wanda would be her's while she stayed. Wanda sat on the old bed covered by a soft and worn quilt. She ran her fingers over the patchwork fabrics wondering where they had come from and who had sewn them into their family quilt.

Laura handed Wanda dark metal canister, tightly sealed shut, and Wanda was eerily reminded of the cold tea she held in her hands this morning. Wanda felt herself tremble at the thought that she was holding in her hands all that was left of the man who had preceded her ten minutes into the world and had been her constant companion every moment since. Their struggles their successes, their fears and hopes, their memories and shared dreams were hers alone to keep now. She'd never again have the chance to tell him to stop behaving like an asinine brat, yell at him to slow down and wait for her, or ask him what he wanted for dinner. He'd never again tell her to stop worrying so much, bring her some trinket from somewhere he had been and tell her it reminded him of her, he'd never again tell her about his ambitious, albeit unrealistic plans for the future. Laura sat on the bed beside her and wrapped her arm around Wanda. Wanda felt powerless to her own emotions as she lay her head on Laura's shoulder and cried.

In Wanda's dreams she returned to Sokovia, to Novi Grad when it hovered above the clouds and the air was thin in her lungs. She stood with Ultron in the church, she held his heart in her hands, but he still kept talking. He just wouldn't shut up.

"You could have had the perfect future, Wanda," he told her, "I was going to make the perfect world. For you and everyone like you."

"You would have killed everyone. Instead you just killed my brother," Wanda snarled.

"People are imperfect, they would have killed themselves eventually, I was just speeding up the process," Ultron said in his defense, "It would have been beautiful, Wanda, you'd have never had to be afraid again."

"I would have never seen it! I would have been dead with everyone else!"

"You can pretend, Wanda, but you'll never be like everyone else."

Wanda was sick of listening to him, she let her psionic powers surge and flare around her as she forced Ultron and the church to burn. It was satisfying to watch Ultron reduced to molten slag, but he still kept talking.

"See what I mean?" he burbled.

"Wanda!" Vision shouted.

Wanda woke up gasping and choking in Vision's arms. She realized the room was full of smoke and the bed was smoldering and crumbling beneath her. She felt the slight ripples of energy subsiding around her body. She had set the room on fire in her sleep.

Vision was looking at her gravely and Wanda felt a massive surge of panic welling up in her. She shoved him away from her and pushed herself off of what remained of the bed. She snatched canister of Pietro's ashes from her nightstand and ran. She bolted past Natasha who was carrying a fire extinguisher in the hall. She ran past Clint, Laura, and their children standing outside their house, they must have left when a fire alarm went off. Wanda ignored them as they called her name and she kept running. She didn't stop until she reached the hill and the oak tree. She collapsed in the grass bare legged and barefoot wearing on the t-shirt and shorts she had slept in. Her chest heaved from the exertion and sobbed all of Ultron's words, real and imagined still echoing through her head.

She couldn't go back. She had lost control and nearly burned down Clint's family's home. Where his children and wife slept. Wanda screamed in despair and frustration.

After what felt like an eternity Wanda felt like she had calmed down, she still felt horrible, but she was able to take in her surroundings. She realized Vision was watching her from the other side of the oak tree.

"How long have you been there?" she asked her voice quivering.

"A little more than forty minutes," he told her. He took her addressing him as a sign he could approach her so he walked to her side, but remained standing.

"Is everyone at the house okay?" Wanda asked fearfully.

"Yes, the only casually is an antique bed and quilt made by Laura's grandmother," Vision told her.

"Oh," Wanda said relieved and simultaneously feeling guilty.

"No one is angry with you if that's what you're wondering," Vision informed her.

Wanda wasn't sure that she deserved forgiveness. She felt the need to point out, "Pietro would have never set the bed on fire."

"You're not Pietro, nor did you share abilities or personalities, so that's a poor comparison."

Wanda sniffed and looked out over the valley. The moon was out and was very bright leaving very much illuminated despite it being the middle of the night. It was beautiful, but Wanda felt like she didn't deserve to get to see such a lovely sight.

"You keep seeing me at my worst," she told him.

"I keep seeing you at your most vulnerable," Vision corrected her.

"It's embarrassing," she said angrily feeling the need to defend herself.

"You're a woman who has experienced great loss in her life, that you can still grieve so deeply shows a great emotional depth. That's nothing to be embarrassed by…" Vision told her. He paused, very thoughtful of what he would say next. Wanda wondered, with the mind of a computer capable of calculating elaborate equations in moments, if he was really thinking, or he was mimicking human mannerism to appear more personlike. "If I have seen a compromising side of you that you never meant for others to see, I apologize… but it hasn't made me think less of you. Quite the opposite."

Wanda didn't know what to say so she didn't say anything. She sat in stunned silence listening to the crickets chirping and the wind through the trees. She started at Vision his face partially illuminated by the moonlight, his expression inscrutable, despite his earnest words. Why had Ultron given him such a human face?

"Wanda, may I ask you a personal question," Vision asked.

Wanda sighed, "Sure why not."

Vision continued unperturbed by her sarcasm. "When I found you on Novi Grad, you seemed resigned to die. Had you… given up?"

Wanda was thoughtful for a moment. She found it disconcertingly easy to be honest when confronted with such a blunt question. "Pietro was dead, I didn't know what to do, even if could have got away on my own… I'm not sure that I would have."

"What about now? If confronted with a similar situation, would you at least try to escape?"

Wanda searched her feelings. "If no one was depending on me… I'm not sure I would," she said. That was an awful thing to say, but she felt sense of relief being able to admit to it out loud.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Vision said with audible and visible disappointment. He was suddenly so expressive it made Wanda laugh. Vision looked disconcerted, "What is humorous about this?"

"There's something very funny about a sad robot," Wanda said.

"I'm not sure why you'd find my unhappiness about your disregard for you own welling as 'funny'," Vision frowned.

Wanda forced herself not to laugh harder. "No, you're very expressive for a robot. It's unexpected. That's what I find funny."

"Again with the preconceived expectations of androids… I'm happy to continue contradicting your expectations if it makes you laugh," Vision said.

Wanda smiled. "Thank you, Vision."

"You're very welcome, Wanda," then he continued, "Is there any way I can entice you back to the house so you can get the sleep you very much need?"

"No, there isn't, but you can stay out here and keep me company," she told him.

So he did and in a few hours together they watched the sunrise over the farm.

The wake was mercifully uneventful. Steve and Sam arrived in a black unmarked SUV Wanda recognized from the Avenger's compound, but they were unclear where they had been prior to arriving or why they had driven rather than fly. Colonel Rhodes and Tony Stark, however made far more flamboyant entrances in their suits of armor and Tony flanked by what looked like two hovering crates. Opening the crate revealed, a catered meal, because apparently Americans expected to eat a funeral. The other crate contained an engraved granite block for the front of the little vault they had built. It was engraved with the Avenger's A, Pietro's full name, his date of birth, the date he had been taken from her, and a small message, "beloved brother and one of earth's mightiest heroes." Wanda was very touched and had to walk away from a moment when Tony showed it to her. She felt the slightest modicum of her feelings towards him thawing.

Everyone said very nice things about Pietro, despite having hardly known him, but Wanda accepted it all graciously. She thought Pietro deserved it and in her heart she knew Pietro would have reveled in all of the attention. She still felt very sad, she didn't think she'd ever wholly stop feeling sad, but she didn't hurt as much. Her conversation with Vision the night before when he had asked her if face with another life threatening situation, would she just give up again and she had said she didn't know. She truly didn't know, but she knew she could live her life and grieve for Pietro at the same time. Pietro would have never had the patience to grieve and mourn, so she'd try to honor that.

Clint had originally hoped Wanda would stay the weekend, but after last night Wanda was too afraid she might hurt his family. In all honesty she was less likely to accidentally burn down the Avenger's compound, there were a lot of fire safety precautions built in. Also she really wouldn't feel that guilty about accidentally destroying something Tony Stark built.

Wanda and Natasha were putting their things into the SUV, there was room to park it in the quinjet to take it back to New York when Laura and Lila approached Wanda.

Lila handed her a white picture frame, inside was the drawing of Wanda and Pietro. Lila said her father had told them about Pietro so she had drawn the two of them together.

"Thank you very much, Lila," Wanda said.

"You'll come back right?" Lila asked.

"Someday," Wanda reassured her.

"I hope you'll come back," Laura told Wanda while hugging her. "Clint once left the stove on with a dish towel on it. We had to renovate the kitchen after that."

Wanda hugged her back. Laura wasn't mad, Wanda wished she could say the same of her feelings for herself.

"You kids up to anything fun next week," Tony asked.

Steve looked a Tony seriously until Tony flinched. "Okay, just tell me if you need help. I'll be there in a jiffy."

"I know," Steve said with resignation.

"Oh, Wanda," Tony said addressing her. "I was supposed to talk to you about a thing."

"Okay," Wanda said waiting expectantly.

"But I forgot what it was," Tony admitted.

"Oh my gosh, Tony," Colonel Rhodes mumbled from behind him.

"So I'll give you a call when I remember," Tony said.

"You do that," Wanda said.

Tony gave a jaunty wave then closed the visor on his suit and flew away. Colonel Rhodes looked apologetically at all of them, especially Wanda, offering her his condolences a final time. Wanda gave him a slight smile, she actually thought highly of Colonel Rhodes despite the company he kept and wished him a safe trip home.

With that they got inside the SUV, which was surprisingly less spacious than Wanda would have thought for five adults. Natasha beat Sam to the front passenger seat, against Steve's protestations they should let Wanda sit in front. Wanda was giggling too much over Natasha jabbing Sam to get out of her way. Vision joined them in the back seat, probably for the experience. Once inside he spoke to Wanda, who was wedged in the middle again between him and Sam.

"You know," Vision said to her, "I don't think I like small spaces."

"Remind you too much of the little box you came in?" Wanda asked.

"I suppose you might be right."

Wanda was hoping whatever they did next did not involve cars.


End file.
